Women in combat no reason for joy

February 2, 2013

Women in combat and joy in the women's world. Are you kidding? I would think that this joy expressed across the county reflects the lack of knowledge of what combat is and what it can be. Those who have experienced it rarely express joy. Women have provided outstanding service military service and actually in this current war have contributed more than ever before in combat operations.

Our leaders state that candidates to be part of the combat opportunities will have to pass stringent test. We have heard that before, police and fire departments across the county started with good intentions but after few could pass, did they lower the standards to include minorities and women often after lowering the standard, they had to lower it again. In the military more than any other organization the pressure from the top can be brutal and what pressure you believe will come from above pushing "why don't you more women passing the test?" Pressure like you can't imagine.

Do you believe women can be distractive; proof may be the pregnancies within our naval women aboard ship for 6 months. Do we have data available? According to the Center for Military Readiness (Chairman Elaine Donnelly) states "the difficulty in obtaining precise statistics on how pregnancies impact combat readiness is the result of the military's unwillingness to face up to a real problem. There is a stubborn 'mindset' that refuses to recognize that mixed-gender training and combat support units have created ongoing problems with discipline, morale and leadership. "This is another issue that has never been adequately studied. The Army doesn't want to know the answer so it doesn't want to ask the question" The data reflected in this report reflected pregnancy of naval enlisted females at 13.4 percent.

Then there is the draft. Some say it will never happen again. Don't kid yourself - it can happen again and then what do we do, draft daughters or change the rules? Another divisive issue we don't need. How about being distractive in field combat, where troops could be in the field for months at a time. Then hygiene becomes an issue. See a soldier with their guts hanging out is a bit more than treating one in a hospital, or with their head blown off.

Are we playing with our military for social issues? Is this wise? Is this necessary? No one can dispute the value of women in the military, but to express joy at being allowed in combat is strange and can only weaken our military.

Our county continues to lower standards, in jobs, in education. We don't applaud or award excellence and in the fever to include everyone we just continue to lower expectations. Personally I prefer being the best and was proud to train and work at being the best. How sad of what we are today and what can we expect in the future?